NFL Player News

Samuel (hamstring) has been ruled out for Sunday's game against the Rams, Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com reports.

Samuel didn't practice at all this week and now has a chance to get more rest with the 49ers heading on bye Week 9. As for Sunday, Samuel's absence increased the target projections for Brandon Aiyuk, George Kittle and Christian McCaffrey, while the vacated wideout snaps should go to some combination of Ray-Ray McCloud, Jauan Jennings (questionable, hamstring) and Danny Gray. For Samuel, the next chance to play is Nov. 13 against the Chargers.

The Seahawks list Lockett as questionable for Sunday's game against the Giants with hamstring and ribs injuries, Gregg Bell of The Tacoma News Tribune reports.

The rib issue may be the greater concern for Lockett at this juncture, as the wideout was a limited participant at Wednesday's practice due to the hamstring injury before returning to full activity Thursday. With the Seahawks now attaching the rib injury to Lockett's name ahead of Friday's practice, fantasy managers will now need to keep a close eye on reports pertaining to the wideout ahead of Sunday's 4:25 p.m. ET kickoff. If Lockett gains clearance for the Week 8 matchup, he could have a clear path to being Geno Smith's No. 1 target; DK Metcalf (knee) is also listed as questionable but hasn't practiced this week and appears unlikely to play.

Metcalf (knee) is listed as questionable for Sunday's game against the Giants, though he doesn't appear likely to play, Gregg Bell of The Tacoma News Tribune reports.

Tyler Lockett (knee) also is listed as questionable, but he's expected to play after managing a limited practice Wednesday and a full session Thursday. Metcalf, on the other hand, seems like a long shot to suit up, having suffered a patellar tendon injury in last week's win over the Chargers. While the Seahawks are optimistic he'll avoid an extended absence, Metcalf should probably be viewed as closer to doubtful ahead of Sunday's 4:25 p.m. ET kickoff, with risk of a limited role in the event he does suit up.

Bell (ankle) was a full participant in Thursday's practice, Mark Kay Cabot of The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.

Bell's return to full practice participation suggests the rookie wide receiver should be available when the Browns face the Bengals on Halloween. The third-round pick out of Purdue is still searching for his first NFL touchdown and has only seven catches through seven games.

The Texans list Cooks as questionable for Sunday's game against the Titans due to a wrist injury.

Cooks' injury designation heading into the weekend comes as a surprise, as he wasn't included on the Texans' injury report until Friday. Even then, Cooks was a full participant in Houston's final practice of the week, so he may not have made the Texans aware of the injury until after the session concluded. Whatever the case, Cooks' status now warrants monitoring heading into Sunday's 4:05 p.m. ET kickoff. The Texans also list fellow wideout Nico Collins (groin) as questionable, but he looks less likely to play than Cooks after failing to practice in any capacity this week.

Watson (hamstring) is listed as questionable for Sunday's game in Buffalo.

The rookie was a limited practice participant Wednesday through Friday, with head coach Matt LaFleur saying at the end of the week that he's "cautiously optimistic" about Watson playing, per Matt Schneidman of The Athletic. If he suits up ahead of the 8:20 p.m. ET kickoff Sunday, Watson presumably would slot in somewhere behind Romeo Doubs and Sammy Watkins on the depth chart, unlikely to handle a three-down role even with Allen Lazard (shoulder) ruled out.

Collins (groin) didn't practice Friday and is listed as questionable for Sunday's game against the Titans.

Collins was unable to practice at all throughout the week, so he'll likely need to progress substantially to play come Sunday. Given that context, it's no surprise that the Texans don't expect Collins to play, per Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Houston. If Collins is out or limited, Phillip Dorsett will likely take on a larger role against the pedestrian Titans secondary. Dorsett got into the end zone after Collins got hurt in the Week 7 loss to the Raiders.

Waddle (shoulder) doesn't have an injury designation for Sunday's game in Detroit, David Furones of the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports.

Waddle was limited in the Dolphins' first two Week 8 practices on account of the shoulder injury, but his upgrade to full participation Friday erases most of the concern about his health heading into the weekend. With starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa back in the lineup last Sunday against Pittsburgh for the first time since Week 4, Waddle was able to quickly re-establish chemistry with the signal-caller and produced a 4-88-0 receiving line on five targets. An even bigger game could be in the forecast this weekend while the Dolphins take on a vulnerable Detroit secondary.

Head coach Zac Taylor confirmed Friday that Chase "will miss time with (a) hip injury and will make a full recovery," Geoff Hobson of the Bengals' official site reports.

Per Kelsey Conway of The Cincinnati Enquirer, Taylor didn't outline a timetable for Chase's recovery, instead noting that the Bengals have a couple more days to decide whether Chase will be placed on injured reserve. Ben Baby of ESPN.com previously relayed that the wideout is expected to miss 4-to-6 weeks, and if Chase does land on IR, he would miss at least four games. In Chase's absence beginning with Monday's game against the Browns, Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd are poised to lead the Bengals' wideout corps, with Mike Thomas and Trent Taylor candidates to log complementary snaps.

Brown (foot) is listed as questionable for Sunday's game against the Bears, Patrick Walker of the Cowboys' official site reports.

Brown handled a full workload in last week's win over the Lions but then was held out of practice all this week. He thus appears truly questionable ahead of the Cowboys' 1:00 ET kickoff, with KaVontae Turpin and Jalen Tolbert on hand to fill in at wide receiver if Brown can't play.